In our ongoing Edinburgh Fringe 2026 interview series, we are speaking to artists and creatives who are bringing their shows to the Scottish capital this summer.
In this interview, we speak with writer and director Charlaina Thompson about her show DUST.
What can you tell me about your show?
DUST is inspired by the real lives, memories and family histories of both myself and performer Craig McArdle, growing up in Yorkshire mining communities.
Built around what I call “The 10 Northern Commandments” the unwritten rules of loyalty, resilience, humour and survival the show weaves together my own family history with the verbatim experiences of Craig's grandfather, who survived the 1973 Lofthouse Colliery disaster against extraordinary odds.
At its heart is the story of a boxer, a soldier, a miner, a husband and a father. Through a fever dream of memories, he reflects on the people, places and moments that shaped his life.
While rooted in Yorkshire's mining heritage, DUST is ultimately about family, identity, belonging and the extraordinary lives hidden within ordinary communities.
Where did the inspiration for this piece come from?
The inspiration for DUST began with a funeral.
In 2023, I took a sabbatical from my work as a drama teacher. A few months into my leave, I received the news that my beloved aunt had passed away in Doncaster. She wasn't my aunt by blood, but after my mother died from cervical cancer, she became one of the most important people in my life.
When my mother passed away in 1990, I was left effectively orphaned. I lived with my aunt for a short time before entering foster care at the age of fourteen. Over the years, I emigrated to Australia and built a life on the other side of the world, but she remained my last living connection to my childhood and to the Yorkshire family I had left behind.
I knew I had to go home.
Returning to Yorkshire after so many years was surreal. Standing outside the house where I had once lived with my mother, and later with my aunt, I was struck by a strange feeling: nothing had changed, yet everything had changed. The streets were the same. The houses were the same. But the people who had filled them with life were gone.
When my cousins asked me to deliver the eulogy, something shifted. I realised that the stories of my family—the stories that had shaped me—were beginning to disappear. If I didn't ask the questions now, those memories could be lost forever.
What followed became an extraordinary journey into my own past.
During my research, I discovered that my great-grandfather had been awarded the Edward Medal for bravery following a rescue at Askern Colliery. The award was later transferred to the George Cross, Britain's highest civilian gallantry honour. As I uncovered more of my family's history, I found myself revisiting childhood memories of mining communities, strike debates around the dinner table, working-class pride, resilience and the humour people used to survive difficult times.
Then came a chance meeting with actor Craig McArdle. We met in 2010 when I went to The Holden Street Theatre to see Heroine for Breakfast - Winner of the Edinburgh Fringe Holden Street Theatre Award 2009 and came to Adelaide in 2010. I became friends with Craig and we have worked on multiple projects over the last 16 years - DUST was our first personal collaboration that has deep meaning to both of us.
As we shared family stories, we discovered remarkable parallels in our histories. Craig's grandfather had narrowly escaped the 1973 Lofthouse Colliery disaster, which claimed the lives of seven miners. Six of those men remain entombed underground in what are believed to be some of the deepest graves in Yorkshire.
Those conversations became the foundation of DUST.
What began as a search for family history evolved into something much bigger—a story about heritage, identity, memory and the people whose lives built entire communities but whose stories are rarely told.
The greatest gift of creating DUST has been reconnecting with my own family and discovering where I come from. Along the way, Craig has also forged a deeper connection with his father, uncovering family stories and histories he never knew existed.
At its heart, DUST is about preserving those voices before they are lost. It's a love letter to the generations who came before us, and a reminder that ordinary people often leave behind extraordinary legacies.
How have you approached developing the show?
In 2024 I wrote DUST over 4 Weeks - it sounds short - but once I started I couldn’t stop. I worked all day and wrote until I fell asleep. I had the idea that I wanted The 10 Northern Commandments to be the backbone of the play as it was the moral compass and code of which I grew up. From my memories, verbatim stories and research on my own family, diaries, photographs and letters DUST came to life. I didn’t really know or understand what I had written until Craig arrived for the first script read. We both laughed and cried and we knew at that moment we wanted to share it with an audience and went into rehearsals.
How would you describe the style of the show?
A fast-paced, actor-driven one-man show packed with Northern grit, humour, heart and soul.
Blending physical theatre, storytelling and larger-than-life characters, DUST is funny, moving and unapologetically working class. It's a story about ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives and the communities, memories and legacies they leave behind.
Can you describe the show in 3 words?
A Love Story.
For eighteen months I thought I was writing about mining, identity and working-class heritage. Then I realised I was writing about love. Love between fathers and sons, husbands and wives, friends, families, communities and the places we call home.
How do you mentally and physically prepare for a run like the Fringe?
"We've spent two years preparing DUST for fifty five minutes."
Charlaina: As the writer, director and producer, I've taken on every aspect of the production, fundraising, budgeting, logistics, marketing, press, travel, accommodation and a thousand other moving parts, so that Craig can focus on one thing: the performance.
The Fringe is often described as a marathon rather than a sprint, so preparation starts long before we arrive in Edinburgh. For me, it's about organisation, planning and accepting that some things will inevitably be outside of my control. Once we're on the ground, my job is to keep the machine running smoothly and create the conditions for the show to succeed.
10,000 hrs for an hour of your time.
Away from your show, what are you most looking forward to about being in Edinburgh?
To be able to see the work of other artists. Everyone is on such a unique journey and I know for me how much of heart and soul has gone into this play and performance and to have the opportunity to see artists perform will be an honour.
Are there any other shows at the Fringe you’d like to recommend?
I have always enjoyed the work of Phil Stokes (Jesus, Jane, Mother and Me!) He has a new show This is not America looking forward to seeing that. I also want to support fellow artists at The Pleasance. I have been desperate to see Smile for the last year (Charlie Chaplin Story: Marcel Cole) - This is a top priority for me.
What was the first piece of theatre you saw which had a big impact on you?
That's a difficult question because I was lucky enough to grow up with a mother who loved theatre and the arts. Although she passed away from cervical cancer just before I turned 13, she gave me something invaluable: a lifelong love of storytelling.
Looking back, I realise I started writing plays when I was nine or ten years old, although I didn't know that's what I was doing at the time. I would recruit the neighbours' kids, assign them roles and stage performances for the parents. Our theatre was an unrenovated lounge room, the stage a patch of tiled floor, and the sound design consisted of me enthusiastically pressing buttons on a Casio keyboard.
I wrote little sketches, comedy routines and snippets of stories. The one I remember most vividly was a masterpiece called The Nosey Neighbour.
What I hadn't quite grasped was that I was also an avid eavesdropper. The dialogue was inspired by conversations overheard across front fences, in driveways and over cups of tea. Unfortunately, the neighbours recognised themselves immediately. As the children cheerfully performed the play, various local secrets and grievances were inadvertently aired in front of the entire street.
The adults laughed. Some laughed a little too hard. A few looked increasingly uncomfortable.
Let's just say the production was a success with the audience, less so with its subject. We never really spoke to the nosey neighbour again.
In hindsight, it was probably my first lesson as a playwright: people love seeing real life on stage right up until they recognise themselves.
As I grew older, I devoured plays and was fortunate to have three incredible drama teachers who introduced me to the work of Dennis Potter - Blue Remembered Hills - seeing adults performing as children, Willy Russell - Educating Rita - Shirley Valentine and Mike Leigh - Abigail's Party. Their writing showed me that ordinary people and working-class lives could be extraordinary subjects for theatre. I loved how they made the ordinary - extraordinary. The Cream Cracker by Alan Bennet - I think that seriously sparked my fascination with the monologue.
At school, I wanted to be the female version of them. I dreamed of going to drama school and becoming a writer. But at 18, I found myself homeless, and life took a different path. I had to survive first and thrive later.
What do you hope an audience member takes away from seeing the show?
I hope they leave feeling they've experienced a story that stays with them long after they've left the theatre.
More than anything, I hope they're completely immersed in the world of the play for fifty-five minutes so that they laugh, reflect, remember and perhaps see something of themselves in the story.
One of the things I love most about DUST is that every audience seems to take away something different. Some people see their father, grandfather or uncle. Others are reminded of their childhood, their community, or the place they grew up. For some, it's a story about mining; for others, it's about family, identity, resilience, grief or love.
What surprises me most is how often people tell us afterwards, "That was my story," even when they've never set foot in a mining town.
I think that's because, at its heart, DUST is about ordinary people living extraordinary lives. If audiences leave feeling a little more connected to their own history, to their family, or to the people around them then we've done our job.
One piece of feedback that has always stayed with me came from someone who told me, quite honestly, that they didn't really like theatre and they were dragged to the show. My heart sank for a moment, until they followed it up with, "But if this is what theatre can be, I'd go and see more."
I'm still not entirely sure what they meant by it in its entirety, but I chose to take it as a compliment.
Perhaps it was because they connected with the story rather than feeling like they were watching a piece of theatre. Perhaps they recognised something of themselves, their family or their own experiences in the characters. Whatever the reason, it reminded me that powerful storytelling can reach people you never expect.
For me, that's one of the greatest gifts of theatre: creating a shared experience where people can laugh, reflect and see the world or themselves a little differently.
Where and when can people see your show?
We performed at The Mill in Adelaide for two sold out seasons. The Edinburgh Fringe we are at The Pleasance - BUNKER ONE - 2:10PM 5 - 30 AUGUST.
We Return to Australia for a Melbourne Tour.
The Round. https://www.theround.com.au/dust
The ClockTower. https://clocktowercentre.com.au/dust/
Our Dream is to take this show on Tour to Yorkshire and officially bring it home. There is more work to be done to make this happen. I am working hard to make this a reality and thank everyone who got DUST this far and believed that this story needed to be shared and seen. I am manifesting a collaboration to honour this work and future trilogy.
DUST is at the Edinburgh Fringe at Bunker One, Pleaseance Courtyard from 5 – 30 Aug (not 12, 18 or 25) at 14:10. Ticket information here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/dust
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| Charlaina Thompson |
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